Plants climb in a number of ways.  Some wrap themselves around other plants, others are ‘sticky’, and some curl.    Some, like honeysuckle, use their stems, whilst others make use of their leaves to wrap around other plants or nearby supports. Twining stems twist around whatever they touch, be it a branch or an artificial structure.  Depending on the species of plant, the stems will wind clockwise or counterclockwise around the support.  Some wrap themselves around the supports so strongly that they risk damage to the supporting plant / structure.  Honeysuckle has thin, green and pliant stems when young but can form very thick, woody, rope-like stems (see featured image) as it matures.  Bindweed or Convolvolus has a thin, green stems which grow surprisingly fast around almost anything that they touch. Read more...

Many hedgerow plants come to our attention as they clamber over the other shrubs and plants.   Some like honeysuckle and old man’s beard (Clematis) create an attractive display, whilst others like the bramble are less attractive - though the individual flowers are a delight (as is the fruit). The dog rose (Rosa canina) is found in many hedgerows, and like the field rose (R. arvensis) it is a common plant.   Roses are often host to various species of fungi - especially the Rusts.   Bright orange / yellow patches may form on the undersides of their leaves and / or stems; these are the massed spores of the rust fungus as it begins another stage in its complex life cycle.   Read more...

Scrub is not woodland per se, but it is often found where woodland starts or ends; or where woodland might develop (e.g. on an abandoned field).Scrub or scrubland is generally vegetation dominated by bushes / shrubs (e.g. blackthorn and hawthorn) with many stems, perhaps reaching to a height of 12 / 15 feet – so that some sort of canopy develops. Many scrub plants are pioneer species, which grow fast and can colonise open habitats quite rapidly. Such pioneer species frequently produce large numbers of seeds (for example, bramble has lots of seeds in the attractive succulent fruits), which are often dispersed by birds (such as thrushes) or by wind – e.g. travellers joy / old man’s beard. Seeds generally germinate better in open grassland than in dense shade. Some scrub species (like blackthorn and gorse) have spines on their stems which are effective in deterring browsing animals (deer, sheep & rabbits) Read more...

The pasqueflower is not a woodland plant, but more one of open grassland (on chalk or limestone), sometimes growing with upright brome and tor grass  However, it is a particularly beautiful and rare flower - having deep purple petals, that surround the many vibrant yellow stamens.  The flowers usually appear in mid-April when the daytime temperatures have risen into double figures; it is often associated with Easter, and is,  otherwise known as easter flower, meadow anemone or dane’s blood.   The flowering period of the pasqueflower is quite long, lasting for some 4 – 6 weeks.  The pasqueflower is a member of the 'buttercup' family - the Ranunculaceae, like the wood anemone and traveller's joy The flowers are protogynous – that is the flower has a separate male and female phases, with the yellow stigmas (female structures) maturing first.  Protogyny, or indeed protandry, are mechanisms that some plants use to promote the exchange of pollen between different plants – i.e. cross-fertilisation / outbreeding .  The plant is covered with many silky hairs – these are present on the leaves, stem and flowers (see the various images in the gallery below). Read more...